Will eBooks enter academia more quickly?

Professional and scholarly ebooks account for 3 times the rest of the ebook market combined
by Paul Biba at Teleread

“That’s what Al Greco, Professor of Marketing at Fordham University Graduate School of Business Administration, says after much research. The following are some of his figures and you can read the full article here:

book publishing (print and electronic) in the US is a $35 billion dollar industry. This year, he forecasts that ebooks will account for 5% of that revenue, or $1.76 billion. Of that $1.76 billion, trade books account for 8.6%, or $151 million; K-12 accounts for 8.1% ($143 million); higher education accounts for 6.9% ($122 million); and university presses account for 0.4% ($7.7 million). Professional and scholarly publishing titles represent 75.9% of the US ebook market, or $1.33 billion.”

Thanks to Resource Shelf for the link.

The complete article offers much more: Professional and Scholarly Publishing Leads the Market for Ebooks by a Wide Margin

“Some of the drivers Greco cited include:

1. The overall steady growth in economic resources in corporate and university sectors in the last 20 years to “buy/rent” scientific, technical, and medical (STM) as well as legal, tax, and regulatory (LTR) information.
2. The historical emphasis on “publish or perish” in universities and the concomitant need to publish more research in peer reviewed publications.
3. The demand for Internet-based information services.
4. The “branding” of professional and scholarly publishers and publications as the “coin of the realm” in professional and scholarly publishing.
5. Increases in the number of professionals who need digital access to STM-LTR content, including lawyers, hedge fund managers, private equity firms, investment bankers, and government employees.
6. The emergence of “inexpensive” computers (including desktops, laptops, and netbooks).
7. Growth in the number of faculty members and graduate students who want and need STM-LTR content.”

Stephen